Begin to Love
by Jia-Mai
Summary: The story of Bree, a half-vampire with a secret and her search for love and a place to belong. Slightly AU
1. Decision

Diclaimer: I am not JKR and do not own Harry Potter.

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Chapter One - Decisions

Bree Roberts sat anxiously in Dumbledore's office. She ran a hand through her long glistening blonde hair, she was very nervous. She had arrived at Hogwarts earlier than the other students because of her special circumstances. On the walls around her portraits eyed her with suspicion and mumbled to themselves. The widows were covered with thick heavy curtains. Albus Dumbledore arrived and silenced the pictures with a look, he turned his gaze to the small eleven year sat by his desk.

"Miss Roberts, I presume?"

The girl jumped, her chocolate brown eyes looked startled. Her mother had been called into work at St. Mungo's after an emergency leaving Bree to ride the Knight Bus alone. She was scared.

"Yes, Mr. Dumbledoe, that's me." She squeaked.

"Hmm," He looked her up and down and then sat behind his desk, "You can't tell that you're…" He looked thoughtful, "No, I think it should be safe for the students." He nodded and Bree felt instantly grateful, one of the paintings gasped!

"You can't be serious! She's a danger to us all!" The man in the painting trembled fiercely knocking over a bowl of fruit that was painted next to him. Bree eyes filled with tears, she should have known she would never be excepted. What she was could never be let into the school. Bree Iris Roberts was half vampire! This meant she could not eat garlic and got blood lust if she didn't have some blood every day. The blood lust could make her very vicious and she would attack people and even animals to get her fix. It was dangerous for her to be in direct sunlight but as she was only a half vampire she was fine as long as she was covered up. This was the reason she always carried a parasol with her to keep her in the shade. The parasol she had with her was her favourite, her mother had got it from Japan, it was a very bright blue and decorated with small, delicate flowers.

Dumbledore looked towards the painting that had made the outburst, "She is harmless, Fingwick. Hagrid will be in charge of capturing small creatures to drain for blood and Professor Snape has been working towards creating a potion that can replicate blood so vampires do not need to hunt."

The painting the Professor called Fingwick did not look convinced. "Albus parents must be informed. In my day-"

"I don't want to be a trouble." Bree said quietly looking down at her lap, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Nonsense. You have the right to be educated! All the Professors agree. I have never been one to turn away students because of who or what their family is. Would you like some tea Miss Roberts?"

Bree nodded and Albus left the room for a while. She was thankful for the time alone, she pulled a white silk handkerchief from her pockets and dried her eyes. Fingwick was pacing in his frame glaring at her and mumbling to him, "None of this in my day, oh no. Vampires." He shook his head and muttered something about keeping Holy Water close to him.

These kinds of reactions were why Bree kept her Vampire secret hidden, although she had gotten used to remarks like these they still made her heart ache. Her mother had always explained that acceptance would be hard to achieve and that people had images of Dracula. It had been Bree's father that was a vampire. Quillan Wilmer DeHart was his name, his tall and slender body attracted many women and his dark soulful eyes could make any woman lust after him. Bree's mother, Nora, had been one of those women. Bree had never met him but Nora had told her the story of when they met many times, although she left out the time that Quillan had drank from her and left her for dead on a boat to France.

Dumbledore came back carrying two steaming mugs of tea he handed one to her and then sat back behind his desk, "Now Bree I think we have some important matters to discuss. It is of the utmost importance that no one discovers your secret. You have to swear to me you won't tell anyone!"  
"I swear." Bree said solemnly.

"Your teachers will tell you where you can sit without the danger of being exposed to sunlight and I have constructed a tunnel that will take you to the Greenhouses on particularly bright days. You will visit Madam Pomfrey everyday at six-thirty to receive your blood supplements."

Bree nodded. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Bree felt herself smile. Dumbledore rose from his seat and handed Bree her parasol, "I must say your parasol is very stylish…I should get one." Dumbledore walked her out of Hogwarts and waited until she was safely on the Knight Bus. Bree was heading home, tomorrow she would go to Diagon Alley and unbeknownst to her she would meet her soul mate.

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AN - I hope you liked it, if you did let me know and if you have constructive criticism let me know. All reviews are appreciated!


	2. Diagon Alley

Chapter Two - Diagon Alley

The next day Bree and her mother were taking a trip to Diagon Alley. Bree had been here many times before, because of her condition they usually went at dusk or in the night-time. Bree loved Diagon Alley at dusk, the shops weren't crowded and everything seemed so calm and tranquil, tonight the sky was dark pink and was decorated by lazy, fluffy clouds. It was a cool summer night and a light breeze tickled Bree's neck, despite the lack of sunlight she still carried her parasol.

The first they went to was Flourish and Blotts to collect school books, Bree breathed in the scent of the musty books, she noticed a bushy haired girl staring at a huge bookshelf running her finger along the titles, every so often she would pull one out, read the blurb and make a noise of astonishment. Bree walked over to her.

"Hello." Bree beamed, the girl gave a slight jump.

"Oh, hello."

"Are you starting Hogwarts this year?" Bree asked.

"Yes. I can't wait, my name's Hermione Granger."

"I'm Bree Roberts." The pair shook hands, "I hope I see you around."

Two people Bree assumed were Hermione's parents came over laden with books and other supplies.

"Well, I have to go now. Hopefully I'll see you on the train. Goodbye." Bree gave Hermione a wave as she left the shop which Hermione returned with a smile. Bree was glad to know that she wouldn't be totally alone on the train now.

"Come on Bree, here are your books." Her mother handed her a bulky bag, "Hmm, perhaps we should have left the books until the end. Oh well. Robes next!" Bree's mother said as they left the shop.

Five minutes later Bree was stood on a stool in Madam Malkin's shop being measured with a length of tape while floating scissor cut the fabric to the correct size. In the corner of the shop Bree's mother was looking at a display of hats. There was a large boy stood on the stool next to her, his hair was short and bristly and Bree couldn't but think he looked very mean.

"What you looking at?" The burly boy rasped and Bree quickly averted her gaze while the boy's mother chastised his quietly.

"Hush Gregory!" The woman was also very large and had dull eyes, she didn't sound as though she meant what she had said. Bree was very glad when her robes were finished so she could leave the brute behind, she didn't like the thought of making an enemy before her first day. Bree mother had to rush to Gringotts to take out some extra money and left Bree sat outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour with a small chocolate sundae. Also sat outside was a worried looking boy with a round face who was just finishing a small ice cream sundae, he kept glancing through the window looking at a stern woman talking to the shop's owner. Bree decided to smile at the boy, he smiled back and she moved over to his table.

"Hello!" Bree said cheerfully, "I'm Bree, are you starting Hogwarts this year?" she asked eying the various packages that were stacked around his feet.

"Oh yes, I'm Neville and this is my toad, Trevor." He pointed to an empty bowl, "Oh no! I've lost him again." Neville got on his hands knees and crawled under tables calling Trevor's name, Bree wished there was some way she could help. Bree felt something land on her head; she gave a squeak of surprise and a toad leapt onto the table. She grabbed hold of it.

"Neville!" She called, "I've got him." She handed the creature over to Neville who took it with a huge grin.

"Thank you so much. My grandmother would have been so mad if I lost him again." Just then the stern looking women came out the shop, "I'd better go. Bye Bree."

Bree's mother emerged from Gringotts just as Bree was finishing her ice cream. The next shop they were going to was Ollivander's to get her wand, Bree always wondered if she would able to get a real wand she loved playing with her Mother's when she was younger and hoped one day she'd get one to call her own. Inside the shop's walls were lined with boxes. A man looked up from the desk, "Nora Roberts," he said recognising Bree's mother, "Redwood with unicorn tail hair, I remember it well." He looked Bree up and down and measured her wand arm, he then pulled a small green box from the stack. Bree tingled with excitement as Mr Ollivander handed her a wand. It was made from Holly and it's core was a dragon heartstring, it felt cold in her hand Bree waved it but nothing happened.

"Ah, not to worry." Mr Ollivander who handed her another, "Pine with a unicorn tail hair."

A few feeble sparks fell from the wand but nothing extraordinary, seven wands later and Ollivander was relishing the challenge, every wand that failed made him mumble "interesting" and retreat further into his shop to retrieve different wand. He emerged carrying a purple box, "Willow with a feather plucked from the tail of a phoenix in New Zealand." He held it out and Bree took it and instantly felt a rush of warmth run through her body, she flicked the wand and out flew a huge golden spark which shattered into hundreds of tiny glowing lights, "Miss Roberts, I think we've found your wand!"  
"Thank you Mr Ollivander." She beamed and handed over gold galleons.

"This wand is particularly springy and you should find it useful in Charms and Transfiguration."

Bree thanked the man again as her and mother left the shop.

They headed toward the pet shop Bree had had a cat for a year and needed some extra supplies so she could take it Hogwarts. The Magical Menagerie shop was quite crowded with a large group of redheads, the youngest of the group was clutching a shabby looking rat and was staring at a glass case of hula-hooping ferrets. Two identical boys were imitating pirates and each had a parrot sat on their shoulder and a red haired women was buying a screech owl for another boy, the women gestured towards him and told the shop keeper that he was going to be a prefect, "We're so happy!" The woman said this with a proud look in her eyes which disappeared when she turned around and saw the twin's pirate impressions. The family left quickly and Bree found the cat section. Bree's cat was a grey tabby called Cressida, she got her when she was just a kitten and they had quickly got close. Cressida would hunt mice and leave them by Bree's bed, Bree would then drink the creatures' blood despite her mother's warnings that it might not be safe. Bree bought a travelling case and some new toys for Cressida and then headed towards the Apothecary.

It was a fascinating shop, crammed with barrels which each held a different ingredient, while Bree would happily breathe in the scent of Flourish and Blotts' books she tried to hold her nose in this shop, the stench was foul and overpowering. A girl who worked in the shop gathered the necessities for a first year as Bree looked in at the barrels contents. In one a mess of tentacles squirmed, another held pointy, green claws, the third barrel contained hundreds of eyeballs soaking in blood. Bree felt her bloodlust overpower her. She could no longer smell the rotting ingredients only the sweet red substance in front of her, her vision started to blur and all she could see, hear, smell and think was _blood! _She dipped her fingers into the barrel and licked the thick liquid off. She took a deep breath and she noticed someone, a blond boy was staring at with a look of disgusted interest. There was no point in playing innocent so she gave him a defiant look. The boy simply smirked and walked away. Bree looked around anxiously hoping no-one else saw her.

"What were you thinking?!" Her mother hissed as they hurried to the Leaky Cauldron.

"I couldn't help it…I had to."

"Well someone saw you! What if he realises? He'll be suspicious now. And I bet he's a Hogwarts student, try to avoid him Bree."

"Yes mum. I'm sorry." Bree pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron and promptly fell flat on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" A boy with messy black hair offered her his hand and pulled her up, "Did you fall over my things?"

Bree nodded stupidly, "I hope I didn't break anything." It was at this point that Bree noticed the boy's bright green eyes and his lightening bolt scar, "You're Harry Potter!" She whispered excitedly.

"Bree, we should be going." Nora ushered her daughter away and shook Harry's hand with hushed thanks. Nora gathered the school supplies they had bought, held onto her daughter's hand and together they apparated home with a soft _pop_.

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AN- I think I covered all my bases for the identity of the soul mate! If any readers have particular likes/dislikes shipwise let me know. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, I proof read this twice so I hope I caught any mistakes. As I said in the first chapter all reviews are appreciated so let me know your thoughts!


	3. The Hogwarts Express

Chapter Three - The Hogwarts Express

Bree was repacking her trunk for the seventh time, every afternoon for the past week she had emptied everything out onto her bedroom floor, checked she hadn't forgotten or lost anything and then filled the trunk up again.

"Are you getting nervous?" Her mother asked from the doorway watching the ritual with a curious look on her face, "There's nothing to be scared of."

"What if people find out? Or no-one likes me?" These worries had been playing on her mind ever since her meeting with Dumbledore and since that boy saw her in the Apothecary her worries had multiplied.

"Don't be silly, you're going to make lots of friends. What about those people you meet at Diagon Alley? They all liked you."

"Hmm." Bree wasn't convinced, over the years she had lost many friends when they discovered her in mysterious places. Elsie Tyson had found Bree hiding under the stairs with her fangs firmly locked into a rat's neck and Gerry Erickson ran from the house screaming when he realised Bree's reflection was pale and ghostly. There were stories like this were scattered throughout Bree's childhood, each one ending with tears and memory charms, hopefully there would be no similar stories in her future.

The next day was the first of September and Bree and her mother were hurrying through Kings Cross Station trying to balance a heavy trunk and a case containing a very fidgety cat on a trolley with a very wobbly wheel. The trolley had a habit of veering wildly off course and bashing into the legs of busy looking businessmen.

"Here it is!" Nora said excitedly standing in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "Just run straight at it."

"Really?"

"Yes." Nora nodded, "I'll be right behind you."

Bree's feet wouldn't move, she looked around at the crowded station and then at the wall in front of her and shook her head. Nora gave her a shove and Bree went running through the barrier and her eyes tight shut, when she opened them it felt as though she was in another world. A scarlet steam train billowed thick smoke and the station was packed with people, some of which she recognised from Diagon Alley. Hermione was hugging her parents and Neville was looking around desperately presumably Trevor was missing again, Bree caught his eye and waved he smiled in return.

Nora checked her watch, the train would be leaving in ten minute, she swept Bree into a hug, "I'll write to you everyday!" She promised with tears in her eyes, "I love you, sweetheart."  
"I love you too, Mum."

Nora helped Bree onto the carriage with her trunk and then handed her the case containing Cressida. After another hug Nora hopped off the train and waved goodbye. Bree was totally alone and had absolutely no way to move all her things, she sighed and attempted to pull the trunk along the carriage.

"Do you need any help?" A smiling blond boy asked her, Bree nodded and the boy called over his shoulder, "Justin, come out here a second."  
A dark haired boy emerged from the compartment, Bree got hold of her cat case and Justin and the blond boy each grabbed one end of the trunk, "Why don't you sit with us?" Justin asked, "Our compartment is just along here."  
"Sure!" Bree agreed happily as they carefully manoeuvred into the compartment and stowed the trunk away in the luggage rack.

"We should introduce ourselves," Justin suggested.

"Good idea! I'm Ernie MacMillan" The blond boy said proudly.

"Bree Roberts." The pair shook hands.

"And I'm Justin Finch-Fletchely." The dark hair boy said as Bree leant over to shake his hand as well.

"Would either of you mind if I let my cat out? She's been cooped up in there for hours." Neither of the boys had a problem with and so Cressida stretched and then curled up on the floor. Somewhere outside a whistle blew, doors slammed shut and the train started to move.

"Isn't this exciting?" Justin remarked, almost bouncing with joy.

"Have you been looking forward to going to Hogwarts?" Bree asked, she had been dreaming about the school since she was about six.  
"I'm a, err, what do you call it, muggleborn. I only found out about Hogwarts a month ago. I've got so much to learn!"

"We're all in the same boat Justin. None of us have done magic before." Ernie pointed out.

"Excuse me?" A blonde girl in pigtails stood anxiously by the door, "Could I sit in here?"

"Of course!" The three of them said and they got up to help her with her trunk, the group went through their introductions again, the new girl's name was Hannah Abbott. Ernie was trying to explain Quidditch to Justin who looked quite bewildered Hannah and Bree pitched in where they could. It took about ten minutes but Justin couldn't wait to go to the match of the season.

Green fields flashed by outside the window and the sun rolled in and out of the clouds, Dumbledore had explained in a letter that a sun-light reflecting spell had been cast on the windows so it would be safe. A smiling woman slid upon their door and asked "Anything from the trolley?" Justin had never had any wizarding sweets so the four of them put their money together and bought a little of everything.

"So, which House does everyone think they'll be in?" Hannah asked as she bit into a liquorice wand.

"Well, my father's family have all been Hufflepuffs." Ernie said thoughtfully, "And my mother's side of the family are almost all Ravenclaws."

"My mum was a Ravenclaw too." Bree added.

"What's the difference between the Houses?" Justin asked curiously.

"Well Ravenclaws are really smart, Gryffindors are brave and courageous, Hufflepuffs are loyal and hardworking and Slytherins-"

"Are the best." Everyone looked up to see who had interrupted, it was the boy from the Apothecary, Bree tried to ignore him and fiddled with a loose thread from the sleeve of her cardigan. "I'm Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." He gestured to the boys stood either side of him, Bree recognised one of them from Madam Malkin's. Draco looked around the compartment, his eyes flashed with recognition when they rested on Bree. "Can I speak to you outside?" He asked, somewhere on the floor Cressida had awoken and let out a hiss.

"I'm fine in here, thank you." Bree said coldly. The boy smirked and his friends looked to him for direction.

"You don't want to be hanging around with the wrong sort." His eyes rested on Justin as he said this, "Well, we'll be going. Come and find us if you see sense." The three boys left.

"What did he mean by that? 'The wrong sort,' did he mean me?" Justin worried and looked for reassurance.

"It's because you're muggleborn." Ernie said knowledgably, "Wizards like Malfoy don't think you should have the same rights as…purebloods. Most wizards aren't like him, trust me."

Five minutes later and the compartment had another set of visitors, a much more welcome pair. "Neville's lost his toad. Has anyone seen it?" Hermione asked with a bossy tone.

"No, sorry. No toads." Hannah said with a sorry smile. Ernie had got up and was looking in the luggage racks, he shook his head.

"Nothing there. I'm sorry Neville."

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Bree offered hopefully, "He's probably just exploring."  
"Maybe, thanks for looking though." Neville looked rather glum.

"Why don't you two stay for a while? Justin is just about to have his first Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean!"

Hermione and Neville took a seat and watched as Justin plunged his hand into the paper bag and pulled out a purple one, he popped in in his mouth and grimaced, "Urgh! I think that was liver." He offered the bag around and everyone took one. "One the count of three, we'll all eat one. One, two, three!"

"Cheese." Ernie grimaced.  
"Parsnips!" Hannah replied.  
"Oooh peppermint." Hermione, reached for another but judging by her expression wasn't as lucky the second time.

"Marzipan." Neville looked extremely thankful

"Yuck, ink." Bree spat reaching for some pumpkin juice to take away the taste, anyone listening in would really wonder what that conversation had been about. "Well, I have to go look for Trevor. Bye everyone." Neville and Hermione left and Bree started to wonder why she had been so worried, she was having a great time. The conversation flowed and the sky got darker. Ernie and Justin stood outside while the girls changed into their robes and they did the same for them. The train began to slow down and everyone pushed and shoved their way out of the train and onto a cold, dark platform, Bree heard a voice calling "Firs' years over here!" and followed it. A giant man lead them down a steep path, Hannah clung to Bree's arm for extra balance as they stumbled in the dark.

There was a loud gasp, Bree looked up in wonderment. On the over side of a huge lake, perched on a hill was a beautiful castle. The giant man told them to get in a boat, Hannah pointed out Justin and Ernie and so they quickly joined them. Bree felt butterflies in her stomach as the boats glided towards the looming castle.

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AN- Thanks to everyone for their thoughts regarding ships, I've taken everyone's input into consideration! The Sorting will be in the next chapter, where do you all think Bree belongs? All reviews are appreciated so let me know your thoughts!


	4. The Sorting

Chapter Four - The Sorting

The group of students were huddled in the Entrance Hall, a woman named Professor McGonagall had briefly explained the four houses and had then left. Chatter broke out among the students, all were wondering about how the Sorting happened. Draco Malfoy did not look scared, caught Bree's eye and raised his eyebrow and seemed to be mouthing 'Slytherin.' Bree looked away, she didn't like the way he had talked to Justin on the train but she couldn't help glancing back over at him. Harry Potter was standing with a red haired boy she vaguely recognised from Diagon Alley, they both looked very nervous. Bree edged over to them with an uneasy smile.

"Hello Harry. Do you remember me? From the Leaky Cauldron?" She asked breathlessly.

"Oh, yes." Harry nodded, "You fell over."

Bree felt blood rush to her usually pale cheeks, "Yes, I did."

"I'm Ron Weasley." The other boy said, looking between Harry and Bree.

"This is…" Harry suddenly realised he didn't know her name.

"Bree Roberts, pleased to meet you Ron!"

Above their heads two pearly white ghosts floated along deep in conversation with each other, Harry watched them with deep interest but Ron simply returned to looking nervous. Bree looked around the crowd, Hermione was muttering incantations to herself, Neville was clutching Trevor so tightly it seemed as though his eyes were about to pop, Bree's friends from the train were pacing and Bree really didn't want to look over at Malfoy. She let out a sigh of relief when Professor McGonagall lead them into the Great Hall. Bree's legs seemed to turn to lead and jelly at the same time and she could feel hundreds of eyes watching the group walk slowly to the front of the Hall where a dirty hat sat on a stool.

Bree's eyes widened as its brim opened and it began to sing, the song was about the qualities of all the Houses. Bree began to feel nervous, what if the Hat didn't think she belonged in any of the Houses? One by one the students were sorted, the people from the train were sorted into Hufflepuff, Hermione, Neville and Harry became Gryffindors while Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy became Slytherins. Now it was Bree's turn, the dirty hat was slipped onto her head and she heard a voice whisper in her ear.

"Hmm. There is a great darkness in you, no mistaking that. Oh my, part-vampire, interesting. But you're not a Slytherin…you're so nervous, understandable with your secret. Where do you belong? Hmm, I see it now, you're a HUFFLEPUFF." Bree felt the hat being lifted off her head and she ran towards the cheering Hufflepuff table and took a seat next to Hannah Abbott. Over on the Slytherin table Malfoy looked a bit disappointed as though he'd lost a toy, those at the Gryffindor table clapped politely. The Sorting finally ended with 'Zabini, Blaise' becoming a Slytherin and the empty plates filled with more food than Bree could ever imagine. She filled her plate with steak, chips, carrots and chicken, she dug her teeth into a rare steak with a satisfied smile. The people sat around her began giving introductions and telling each other about their lives, Justin said that he was going to go to Eton and his parents were very wealthy investment bankers, Ernie proudly said his Mother was probably one of the best seekers Ravenclaw had ever seen. A ghost who looked like a short, fat monk had joined the table and was squeezed between Hannah and a handsome third year.

"Hello my dear Hufflepuffs and a warm welcome to our newcomers!" He smiled at each of them in turn, "I am known to most as the Fat Friar, but you may all call me Sir Francis Fairweather the Third."

"Or Francis," the third year added, "Or Friar."  
"Ah yes Cedric. I trust you'll take these first years under your wing and give them the benefit of your experience?"

"Of course." He smiled his grey eyes twinkled and he took a bite out of a lamb chop.

"Cedric is on the Quidditch Team. He is a fabulous Seeker." The Fat Friar smiled proudly and spent the rest of the Feast introducing the First Years to other Hufflepuffs and even started pointing out students from other Houses often gaining a happy wave in the process. It was clear that the Fat Friar was a popular ghost although most Slytherins meet his gaze with a surly scowl.

The Feast was over all too soon and after a rousing sing-along to the Hogwarts Song the Hufflepuffs were being led down to their common room. The prefect leading them stopped outside a still life painting of a room, the prefect put his hand up to the painting and placed his finger on a chair and dragged it towards a desk, there was a quiet click and the wall swung upon. Behind the wall was a well lit staircase which led down to the common room. Inside the room there were lots of fat armchairs dotted around and yellow hangings, a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff hung over a fireplace which had little badgers carved into it. The first years were told to take a seat and their prefects introduced themselves.

"I'm Faith Summers and this is Robert Oliver, we'll be showing you around tomorrow so no-one gets lost." The girl smiled.

"Hogwarts is a big place and we Hufflepuffs always look out for each other." Robert added, looking around at them, "If you ever need anything just ask."

Bree was glad she was put in such a nice House and couldn't help but smile. They were shown to their dormitories whish were at the end of little underground tunnels and had perfectly round wooden doors. The dormitory had four four-poster beds hung with yellow curtains, each bed had a trunk at the end of it. Bree recognised hers because Cressida was lazing in a cat basket next to it. Bree pulled on her pyjamas and said goodnight to Hannah and the other Hufflepuff girls, Susan Bones and Sally-Anne Perks. Bree didn't sleep well all night, she kept having a chilling dream that she woke up and discovered her new friends lying dead in their beds, pale and drained of blood with very distinctive marks on their necks.

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AN- I hope you like it, I put Bree in Hufflepuff because the House doesn't really get much focus in the books and I thought it would be interesting to explore it, let me know your thoughts. All reviews are appreciated.


	5. First Day

Chapter Five

Bree awoke the next morning feeling very refreshed, she looked around and saw that she was the first one up. She pulled on her robes and ran a brush through her hair, then let it hang loose, she had become used to her ghostly reflection and was glad that no-one was awake to see it. She knew it wouldn't be like this everyday and eventually would have to come up with an excuse for the pale image in the mirror. With one last look at her sleeping room-mates she headed to the common room.

It was only seven o'clock so the common room was fairly quiet with small clusters of people gathered around the room. Bree spotted Justin and Ernie sat by the fireplace and joined them.

"I just want to get started!" Ernie said excitedly, he was almost bouncing in his seat. Justin didn't seem to share these feelings, he gave a weak smile then returned to looking apprehensive.

Faith and Robert the prefects from the previous night came up to the trio and sat with them, "So, how's everyone feeling?" Robert asked.

"A bit nervous." Justin admitted.

"Don't worry too much." Faith patted his arm, "As long as you stick together and help each other out it'll be fine." Faith spotted the rest of the first years and waved them over.

About five minutes into the tour Bree had decided she would never be able to find her way around on her own. The staircases moved and some were hidden behind walls, paintings and tapestries and had trick steps that vanished, one would even turned into a slide if users didn't hum Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture! There were doors that wouldn't open without a tickle or a compliment and some doors weren't even doors. Then there were the rude portraits shouted out the wrong directions, Bree struggled to remember which ones Robert had called trustworthy. They bumped into the Fat Friar and warned them against standing still for too long in the west corridor on the sixth floor because that opened a trapdoor that dropped students into a dark chamber for an hour before letting them go. The highlight of the tour was the trip to kitchens which was only a five minute walk away from the Hufflepuff Cellar. The location of the kitchen was a secret to the rest of the school but it was well known among the Hufflepuffs who passed on the knowledge every year. Faith fondly recalled the time when the Weasley Twins had proudly announced that they had discovered the location of "that most elusive place" to a group of bemused Hufflepuffs who struggled to keep a straight face.

It was time for breakfast and the Hufflepuffs went to the Great Hall. Bree poured herself some orange juice and grabbed some toast, Bree pulled a small pot of jam from her pocket. Her mother made it with a mixture of strawberries and rabbit blood she spread it on her jam then quickly put it back in her robes.

"What was that Bree?" Justin asked as he spread marmite on his toast.

"Oh, it's just…um, some special jam. It's strawberries and tomatoes and erm radishes."

"That sounds…interesting."

Luckily, Professor Sprout was giving out timetables so the conversation ended rather quickly. Today they had Potions with the Ravenclaws, Charms and Transfiguration by themselves. Professor Sprout smiled down at them and said she was looking forward to their first Herbology lesson together the next day. Justin was now studying his timetable with great interest and Ernie and Hannah were chatting about magical plants, Bree was glad to be able to eat her toast without any attention on her. She inhaled the sweet smell and took a bite letting the jam rest on her tongue for a second before chewing and swallowing. She felt a wave of euphoria wash over her.

"Wow Bree, I don't think I've ever seen someone enjoy toast that much!" Hannah giggled.

"It's from home," Justin interjected before Bree could speak, "some special family recipe that sounded quite…um, innovative."

"Is that a polite way of saying disgusting?" Hannah joked.

"Probably," Bree said, "Radish, tomato and strawberry isn't most people's cup of tea."

"Urgh!" Ernie pulled a face and returned to his bacon and eggs. Just then, hundreds of owls flew into the Great Hall screeching and hooting, circling tables looking for their owners. Bree looked over to Justin who had almost jumped out of his skin as the owls appeared. A rather plump barn owl landed on the table dropping a letter in front of Bree. She recognised to owl immediately, it was Pandora. Pandora actually belonged to their neighbours the Gamps, but she was used by Bree's mother quite a lot. The owl dipped her beak in Bree's orange juice and Hannah offered her some bread, she gave a happy hoot and flew away. Bree tore open the letter -

_Bree,_

_I thought I'd send a quick letter before I go to work. I hope you're feeling better than you were before you got on the train. Send me quick letter when you've got the time, I want to hear all about your first day!_

_All my love,_

_Mum._

_PS What House are you in? How could I forget to ask that!_

Bree smiled and folded the letter into her robes, there was no time to write now, Hannah wanted to make sure they were at their first lesson early, especially since it was Potions. Faith and Robert hadn't exactly been complimentary towards the Professor during the tour that morning. At around quarter to nine the four of them left the Great Hall and headed towards the Potions classroom, they headed down a narrow stone staircase. It immediately struck Bree how very different this part of the dungeon was to the Hufflepuff part. It was stone and cold and dimly lit, there was an eerie quiet broken only by their echoing footsteps.

"This is sort of creepy." Hannah whispered.

"Do you think we're almost there?" Justin asked, "Every door looks the same."

"We must be close, this is where Faith and Robert took us this morning." Ernie pointed out, "I recognise that painting." He said nodding towards the image of a rotting, pulsating mushroom. They turned a corner and found a group of other first years stood in line next to a door. "This must be it." Ernie concluded.

"Potions?" Bree asked the other students who nodded. The four of them took a place in this line and waited. They were soon joined by the other Hufflepuffs.

The classroom door opened, a man stepped out, "Enter." He said coldly. The class shuffled in and took seats around cauldrons. The man was Professor Snape, he had awful greasy hair, a hooked nose and he was looking at the class as though they were stupid. He began to speak. Bree got the feeling he had memorised this speech and gave it every year to scare the pupils. He fired off a round of questions mostly to the Ravenclaws. Afterwards they began to make a boil cure potion, Bree and Hannah worked together.

"Is it supposed to be blue?" Bree hissed as Snape stalked around the cauldrons making disparaging comments at everyone's efforts.

Hannah consulted the textbook, "It should be purple by now. Did we put the slugs in yet?"

"Obviously not, Miss Abbott." Snape mocked, adding two drops of clear liquid into potion. "Try again."

"That was the worst hour of my life!" Hannah admitted when the bell rang and they rushed towards Charms.

"The worst hour of your life so far." Bree pointed out, "We have seven more years of that!"

"It was awful." Hannah shuddered. The rest of the day was considerably better, Charms was fun and Transfiguration was challenging but enjoyable enough. One thing that was obvious after one day of Hogwarts was that the other Houses seemed to treat Hufflepuffs as though they were useless and were made up of the leftovers who weren't good enough to fit in anywhere else. It was the attitudes of the Slytherins that made this most often, they would role their eyes and snicker whenever the Hufflepuffs walked past them in the corridors.

That night Bree, Hannah, Ernie and Justin were relaxing in the common room. Justin and Ernie were playing Exploding Snap and Hannah was reading her potions textbook, she wanted to be prepared for the next lesson. Bree was writing a reply to her Mother's letter. She looked towards the clock, it was six o'clock. In half an hour she had to go see Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing to get her daily blood supplement.

Bree cleared her throat, "Um, I'm going to go to the Owlery and send this letter." It wasn't exactly a lie, she would be going to the Owlery as well.

"Okay, make sure you don't get lost!" Justin grinned, Bree waved and left. The Owlery was right at the top of a tower so Bree decided it would make more sense to go to the Hospital Wing first.

"You're early." Madam Pomfrey said, "Oh well, over here." She lead Bree behind a curtain, sitting on a table was a glass of thick red blood. She felt weak with joy just looking at it. She grabbed the glass and drank it all in one go, Bree felt it rush through her body and felt euphoric.

"Mmm…It's still warm."

"Well the rabbit was only killed five minutes ago. Vampires prefer the freshest blood. Same time tomorrow dear." Madam Pomfrey reminded her as she left. Bree started to walk towards the Owlery, she couldn't exactly remember the way but she was sure that if she kept going upstairs she was bound to come across it. She heard someone call her, Bree spun around. It was Harry.

"Hi Bree." He smiled. "Where are you off to."

"I'm looking for the Owlery, if I don't send my Mum a letter she'll worry."

"I could walk there with you."

Bree nodded and they set off together, "So, how was your first day." Harry asked.

"Not so bad. Have you had Potions yet?"

"No."

"Lucky you!"

"Why is it really bad? I got the feeling the Professor doesn't like me at the Welcoming Feast."

"Snape? Oh it's all rainbows and unicorns down in the Happy Fun Time Dungeon." Bree joked, "Oh, Harry it's awful! I don't think he likes anyone."

"Oh, well I'm glad I've got that to look forward to." Harry said miserably. "I think we have Defence Against the Dark Arts together tomorrow."

"That _is _something to look forward to."

"Well, this the Owlery." Harry gestured to a door, "Will you be able to find your way back?"

"I think so."

"Goodnight then, I'll see you tomorrow Bree."

"Bye Harry." Bree went into the Owlery, it was a cold room with many owls flying out to begin their night hunt. A tawny owl flew towards her and Bree gave him the letter. He swooped out the window, Bree stood and watched him until he disappeared from view.

* * *

AN - Sorry to everyone for the long wait, I've been quite busy with exams and stuff. Hopefully this was worth the wait, let me know!


	6. Dark Arts

Chapter Six - Dark Arts

The next day was cold and damp, a light mist hung around the grounds and thick grey clouds filled the skies. This weather meant Bree would be able to go to the Greenhouses the normal way, instead of the tunnel Dumbledore had made for her. A harsh wind hit Bree in the face as the four of them headed to Herbology, Dumbledore explained in a letter that the Greenhouse had been fitted with the same glass as the Hogwarts Express making it safe for Bree to have her lessons there. It had began to rain and the grass was quickly becoming muddy, the mist and the rain was also making it difficult to see. The four Hufflepuffs were all huddled under Bree's new umbrella. Bree's mother had sent it to her that morning, it was yellow and had a tiny bronze Hufflepuff shield on the handle.

"Here we are." Hannah said, "Greenhouse One."

"Good!" They hurried inside and Bree shook off the raindrops and joined Ernie, Hannah and Justin around a table and waited for the lesson to begin. Over the next five minutes the rest of the class trickled in each in a varying state of wetness. Harry gave Bree a small wave as he entered the Greenhouse with Ron, they sat at a table near Bree with Neville and Hermione.

Professor Sprout was stood at the front of the class, she smiled at them, "Good morning class! Today is our first lesson together so I must go over some ground rules before we begin. The first is the most important." She paused, "Never go near the Venomous Tentacula!" She pointed towards the back of the Greenhouse where several large spiky plants were moving slowly. "Rule Two, always wear your gloves if you think something could be dangerous…" The rules went on for about another five minutes and each of them made Herbology seem like a quite dangerous subject.

"So." Professor Sprout clapped her hands, "We'll be starting off with something simple. Today you are each going to plant a beanstalk, in our next lesson you will each use a different fertiliser and then in the coming weeks you will be able to judge which gets the best results. Hopefully some of them will become as tall as the castle and strong enough to climb! Now who can tell me a bit more about beanstalks?"

Hermione's hand shot up, "There's a muggle fairytale called Jack and the Beanstalk about a man who finds a beanstalk and climbs up it and finds a giant."

"Exactly. Ten points to Gryffindor. The Muggles don't know that was actually a true story based on Jack Finn's encounter with the brutal giant Gurg Trakal who lived in the Pennines. The Muggle version ends happily but in the more factual, Wizarding version Trakal kills and eats Jack and wears his skull on a pendant." She paused for a second then moved on, "On a more positive note, the leaves are sometimes used in quite old and obscure happiness potions." Professor Sprout tapped the blackboard with her wand and a set of instructions for the correct planting appeared in large, neat letters. "You may begin!"

The instructions were easy enough to follow, after filling a plant pot with soil they had to take one of the tiny red beans and plant it. The more complicated part was watering the plant. The students would have to mix their own solution to speed up the growth of the plant.

"So, the mixture in one third water and seventy three daisy petals, then we stir it clockwise for one minute, add two drops of ginger essence and we're done!"  
"This is a bit too much like Potions for my liking." Hannah whispered nervously as she poured water into her jar.

"This is simple." Bree assured her as she began adding her petals. A heavy silence hit the Greenhouse , Bree glanced around and noticed that everyone was hunched over their tables with furrowed brows as they carefully added their petals. Bree couldn't help but be distracted by the quiet mutters of numbers emanating from other tables. Somewhere to her left Ernie was clicking his tongue each time he dropped in a petal. Bree blinked, was she at fifty-nine or forty nine? She had completely lost count. She racked her brain but whatever number she had been storing was lost now. Bree hastily added twenty five extra petals, after all what harm could it do if she was a little over?

The silence was gone now and had been replaced by a hubbub of conversation and the banging of spoons against jars. After the ginger had been added the liquid become a light golden colour, Bree scanned the room, her mixture didn't look any different to the others, she gave a small sigh of relief.

"Pour it all on the plant!" Professor Sprout called out, "Then label your plant pot and leave it on the shelf at the back. For your homework I want you to write four paragraphs on the history and use of beanstalks ready to hand in next week. Goodbye students!"

Outside the rain had stopped but it was still dark and overcast, the four of them rushed to the castle to warm up.

"Well, I quite enjoyed that!" Ernie grinned and Hannah and Justin nodded.

"Hmm…" Bree murmured distractedly.

"What's wrong?"

"I…um…sort of messed up my mixture. I lost count of the petals so I just threw a load in and hoped for the best," she said quickly, "My plant isn't going to grow is it?"  
There was a pause.

"I might grow into something…" Hannah was trying to sound reassuring but a glance at Bree's face told her it wasn't working, "There were probably other people who lost count as well." She elbowed Ernie in the ribs.

"Oof! I mean, I lost track as well," he said unconvincingly.

"So…" Justin tried to break the silence, "History of Magic next."

"Yeah," Bree leapt upon the new topic, "Apparently it is taught by a ghost, that should be cool!"

It was not cool. Professor Binns floated pearly white in front of them and droned on and on about the goblin uprisings of the 1600s. The lesson was made worse by the presence of Draco Malfoy who spent the lesson muttering to his friends who tittered and guffawed at his every word. It also didn't help that they were expected to write down every word that fell from the Professors mouth and he refused to stop or repeat anything. At the end of the lesson Bree looked down at her parchment it was a messy scribble with the odd blank place where she had meant to go back and fill in a name when Binns stopped or paused for breath, but he was a ghost and didn't pause for breath. She tried to read a line of what she had wrote, _'The Rebellion of Ushawrts raged between wizards and goblins from 1647 to 16??. The leader of the Holrar clan attempted to strike a deal with Yurup but was beheaded by his henchman, Jagrok.'_ She squinted, was that Jagrok or Jaqrok?

After the lesson the four Hufflepuffs conspired, "We should make a pact," Justin suggested in hushed tones, "that only one of us takes notes and then the rest of us can copy them up later."

"That doesn't sound very Hufflepuff." Hannah pointed out, "Aren't we supposed to be hardworking and unafraid of toil? Besides I didn't have any trouble copying it all down."  
"Well then, we'll just copy your notes every lesson." Justin joked.

"Tut-tut," Draco muttered as he shoved past them on his way out, "That sounds very Slytherin, shame you're a Mudblood."

Ernie and Hannah gasped. Bree pulled out her wand and jabbed Draco in the neck with it, "You never say that again!" Bree threatened. Draco scoffed, pushed her hand away with ease and swaggered off.

"What was that about?" Justin asked, looking confused.

Bree shoved her wand back in her robe, "It doesn't matter, come on. We'll be late for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Yes, we should hurry." Ernie nodded and lead the way downstairs. Bree wasn't really looking forward to this lesson. She had bumped into Harry and Ron at breakfast that morning and they weren't feeling the same way, they were both really excited. They had heard that Quirrell had fought of a vampire in Romania and that he was obsessed with hunting it down and finishing it off. Bree had almost dropped her books when they said this.

With every step towards the classroom Bree felt the fear set in. When she had seen the Professor during the Welcoming Feast he had looked quite harmless but now she could only see him as a fearless vampire slayer! She imagined epic fight scenes between him and this vampire with stakes, crosses, holy water, garlic and blasts of sunlight, Bree shivered.

"Here we are." Justin pointed to the open door. Bree entered cautiously and was hit by the unmistakable, pungent aroma of garlic, she felt dizzy and grasped a close desk to keep herself from falling over.

"Let's just sit here." Bree took the seat closest to the door and sat down, the others followed and sat near her. This was like hell. There was a ringing in her ears, her whole body felt cold and clammy, her vision faded and then, there was nothing.

* * *

AN - Cliffhanger! What do you think will happen next? I'm not telling. Let me know your thoughts!


	7. Harry

Chapter Seven

"Come on Ron. We're going to be late!" It was only Harry Potter's second day at Hogwarts and he had already been late for all but one of his lessons. He had been on time to Herbology that morning though that was due to the fact the Greenhouses were easy enough to see and weren't lost in a maze of corridors and a mass of people whispering and pointing at him. His 'fame' was more of a hindrance than a help, people who were all too happy to whisper behind their hands about him froze up if he were to approach them to ask about the way to Transfiguration. At least Ron had his brothers to help him, Fred and George in particular had uncanny ability to pop up whenever they needed them and point them in the correct direction.

"Keep your hair on Harry, it's only our second day. People expect us to get lost for at least the first few weeks."

As they dashed down an empty corridor their quick footsteps echoed, "It's the fifth door along," Harry panted and started counting, "Three, four, five. Here we are!"

Harry pushed open the door, it looked like most people were already there and Professor Quirrell was sat at his desk leafing through a textbook. They were on time! But Harry's joy was short-lived, as he stepped into the classroom there was a soft thump.

Time seemed to slow down, a mess of black robes and blonde hair lay at his feet. It was Bree Roberts. The class erupted in worried chatter and everyone craned their necks to get a better look at the girl on the floor. Harry fell to his knees and put his hand on her forehead.

"She's burning up!" He said looking up, Professor Quirrell was pointing his trembling wand at Bree. He muttered something and she rose into the air as though dangling from some invisible string, her arms hung limply at her side and her head lolled back.

"I-I-I must take this girl to the h-h-hospital wing. Stay in your s-seats." The professor stuttered.

"Merlin's beard!" A Hufflepuff boy exclaimed.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. You are wizards after all, you must have better medicine than we do," a dark haired boy said reassuringly. Harry recognised the people as Bree's friends, Ernie, Justin and Hannah. Harry took a seat at the desk in front of them as they began speculating about why she had collapsed.

"She looked really pale." Hannah pointed out.

"She always looks pale," Justin countered. Harry had to agree, while he had only met her a few times she was always dangerously pale. It was definitely odd.

"This is good isn't it, Harry?" Ron said as he took out his books, "He's not going to be back for ages, we'll have a nice short lesson."

"I thought you were looking forward to this lesson?"

"I was, but I'm not going to complain about not having to do work." Ron shrugged, "That girl, Bree, she'll be fine. Madam Pomfrey has fixed Fred and George after much worse things."

"I might go and see if she's alright. Do you think that would be okay?"

"Her friends from her House will want to see her first. Go after dinner or something, besides you barely know her."

Harry nodded but he couldn't help but squirm as he felt a gnawing worry in his stomach, she had looked so weak. Harry tried to concentrate on the lesson which in all honesty was a bit of a disappointment. Quirrell refused to talk about any of the rumours that they had heard about him, ignoring questions about his fight with a zombie and his encounter with a vampire. Instead they looked at pictures of dark creatures in books , Harry thought it was interesting but Ron looked as though he had seen enough doxies to last a lifetime.

The lesson ended with the deafening scraping of chairs, hurried footsteps and loud chatter. Another school day was over, the corridors were full of tired students and Harry and Ron followed the crowd to the Great Hall. Ron piled his plate with slices of roast beef, carrots, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and a ladles of gravy, Harry wasn't feeling quite so hungry and just had a small slice of corned beef pie.

"I don't know why you're so worried Harry. Hogwarts is the safest place there is." Ron assured him as they left the Great Hall, "I'll meet you up in the common room, we can play Exploding Snap again."

Harry had never been to a hospital before. The Dursleys would rush Dudley to the hospital for every cough, sneeze, bump, or bruise and each time they would leave Harry with their batty neighbour Mrs Figg. Harry had seen the occasional glimpse of a hospital on the many dramas the Dursleys watched. They were bleached white, there was always an ominous beeping, weeping relatives and steady flow of uniformed doctors and nurses and a mess of tubes threaded into a sleeping patient. The Hospital Wing in Hogwarts was the complete opposite of that. Harry pushed open the thick oak doorway, the arched windows were covered with dusty green curtains and there were rows of beds with crisp white sheets, lying in the bed furthest away from the door was Bree. She looked drowsy and paler than he had had ever seen anyone look. Her long blonde hair was loosely tied back and the flickering candlelight made her look washed-out. Madame Pomfrey was standing over her giving Bree a glass of a thick red liquid that Harry thought smelt familiar but he couldn't place it.

"You can stay for a few minutes but after that no more guests," Madame Pomfrey said as she headed into her office.

"Hi Harry." Bree said weakly as she drank the red liquid, "Why are you here?"

"I was worried. You just slid out of your chair. Do they know what's wrong with you?"

"Um…Madame Pomfrey says it might be stress. And the classroom was pretty hot. I hadn't eaten much. It could be a lot of things."

Harry got the distinct impression he was being told the whole truth but he didn't want to badger her and Bree had no reason to lie to him. "Well you didn't miss much, Quirrell isn't that good of a teacher."

"Really? Ernie said it was a bit of a rubbish lesson but Justin loved it. Hopefully I'll be able to sit through the whole lesson next time. I should be out of here in a few hours."

Madame Pomfrey walked back into the Hospital Wing, "Time's up. Time to leave Mr Potter. I assure you Miss Roberts is perfectly fine and does not need anymore visitors!" She sounded irritated and shooed him out of the door. Harry hoped he would never have to spend to much time in the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey in future and rushed up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Bree stood up glad to have regained her strength, Madame Pomfrey was still fussing over her and asking if she wanted any more blood. Due to Bree's fainting they had decided that Bree would now need two doses of blood a day as fresh as possible. Professor Dumbledore had removed all the garlic from Professor Quirrell's classroom and although the scent still lingered none of his spells could detect anymore.

"Be sure to come back if you ever need anything else, Miss Roberts."

"Of course I will, thank you Madame Pomfrey." Bree smiled as she left the room. The smile was almost immediately wiped off her face though as standing in the corridor was Draco Malfoy. "What do you want?"

"I heard that you collapsed, maybe I was worried?"

Bree rolled her eyes.

"Aw, Roberts I'm offended." Malfoy smirked and Bree headed off in the direction of her Common Room, "What really happened? Scared of all the scary creatures?"

"Go away," Bree sighed, she wasn't in the mood for him bothering her right now, "please," she added uselessly.

"Maybe I should walk you to your Common Room, we're both down in the Dungeons, right?"

"You know I can't tell you where my Common Room is, Malfoy."

"Well you're going downstairs." He pointed out. Bree had to get rid of him somehow, as they turned a corner an idea struck her.

"Look at that!" Bree gasped pointing down a corridor.

"What?" Malfoy asked turning to look. Bree took this opportunity to slip behind a tapestry and escape leaving Malfoy stood open-mouthed and shocked. Bree smirked at her victory and hurried to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

* * *

AN - What did you all think of the POV change? I liked writing from Harry's POV as a change so let me know if you think I should do it more in future of if I should just stick to writing from one. All reviews are appreciated.


	8. Halloween

Chapter Eight - Halloween

After Bree fainted in Defence Against the Dark Arts she had been left with the feeling that she was being watched more than usual. She realised that Dumbledore would have told the teachers to keep a closer eye on her but she was noticing her fellow students were giving her side long glances too. Ernie, Justin and Hannah tried to be subtle with their light interrogations of how she was feeling while Hermione would often try and feel her forehead and offer lists of potions that might help her strength. Bree promised that she would try at least one and Hermione said she would check her potions kit for ingredients. Meanwhile Slytherins she passed in corridors would pretend to stumble and faint while others laughed. Perhaps Draco hadn't liked that she'd given him the brush off. Bree hadn't forgotten that he saw her licking blood off her fingers in Diagon Alley and didn't want him taking too close an interest in her lest he discover her secret.

Halloween was approaching and the castle was decorated with a whole manner of spooky things. The Hufflepuff Common Room was also decorated with large cobwebs and fake spiders that would move up and down the wall. There were carved pumpkins sat on every surface and a cackling cauldron that would shoot up purple, green and orange sparks. A large poster hung over the bulletin board and advertised the Annual Hufflepuff Costume Competition that took place after the Feast. The contest was a secret known only to Hufflepuffs and Bree wondered if other Houses did something similar. The hot topic was what to dress as.

"You see it's funny," Justin said at breakfast one morning, "Last year I dressed as a wizard, this year I am a wizard. It narrows down your options."

"You're right," Hannah nodded, "Muggles have it very easy costume-wise."

"So what do wizards dress as?" Justin asked as he spread marmalade on his toast.

"Magical creatures, famous wizards, stuff like that." There was a moment of silence amongst the group as they sat deep in thought.

"Hmm," Ernie said. "I might be a pumpkin."

"Oh, good idea. Justin I have a great idea for our costume, it'll be amazing." Hannah said mysteriously with a wink. "I'll tell you later."  
"I'm keeping my costume a secret too." Bree tried to sound mysterious but really she just hadn't thought of a costume yet but she was sure she would think of one in the next few days.

She daydreamed through all of History of Magic sketching ideas on her parchment. Professor Binn's continuous mention of nundus made her consider dressing as one of them but she wasn't really sure what they looked like. He wasn't very descriptive and none of their textbooks had pictures so she crossed it off the list. The rest of the lessons seemed to fly over; in Charms they practised Wingardium Leviosa, in Transfiguration they turned a box into a ball and in Herbology they planted Dandylions, which looked just like dandelions but would roar and try to bite through the student's thick gloves.

"Class," Professor Sprout warned over a rumble of roars, "If they bite through to your skin rub in your antidote as soon as possible. I don't want anyone having to regrow a finger tonight!"

She also didn't want Bree smelling blood and trying to eat someone in class. Ron and Harry were working at the same table as Bree and Hannah and were making quite a mess.

"That's too much dragon dung Harry!" Ron said with a hand over his nose, "Only one layer!"

"What?" Harry looked up spilling the rest of the sack on the desk as the plant pot over flowed.

"Eugh!" Bree groaned as the dung came towards her, "Watch it Harry!"

"Oops, sorry."  
"It's on my robes!" Bree wiped her robes but with her dirty gloves it just got worse.

"Ow! Ow! OWW!" Ron exclaimed as his Dandylion bit down on his glove. Harry tried to wrestle the flower but by that time Professor Sprout was already at the table. She sent a stunning charm to the flower and looked at them with a smile on her face.

"Oh dear," she grinned, she waved her wand to clean up the mess, "Ran into a spot of bother did you?"

Bree noticed Hermione giving the four of them disapproving glare, "We're sorry Professor." The four of them said.

"Oh don't worry, it could be worse. At least the plants are alright, even if I am down a sack of dragon dung." She shook her head slightly, "The four of you will write me an essay on dragon dung due in next week. Just a small one, a few hundred words. Look at the time class, leave your Dandylions on the shelf and you're free to go." There was a cacophony of bangs, clatters and the dragging of chairs as well as a hubbub of voices, Professor Sprout called over the clatter, "Also, you might be interested to see how your beanstalks are doing." She pointed to a cluster of blue pots with little green shoots poking through, some taller than others. Bree hoped that hers had grown at least a little but didn't want to check lest she be disappointed.

"Sorry about getting you in trouble." Harry whispered as they left the greenhouse.

"It's not a problem. It was kind of fun, even if I do stink! Nice day isn't it?" Bree smiled. To a normal person this would be a terrible day, the whole sky was covered in thick grey clouds threatening to burst into showers any moment and a chill ran through the air, but to Bree it meant she could safely be outside.

"Are you mental?" Ron asked with a frown but was interrupted by an indignant looking Hermione.

"Bree! You should know better than to hang around with trouble-makers like this!" She huffed, eyeing Harry and Ron suspiciously, "Surely you don't want to get kicked out of school."

"Hermione it was a bit of dung, we didn't blow up a classroom."

"It's a slippery slope. His brother's are all trouble too!" She pointed at Ron.

"Oi! Percy would be very offended to hear you say that."  
"You should try acting more like Percy!"

Ron rolled his eyes and Bree decided to intervene, "Calm down you two."

Hermione let out a humph and stormed off into the castle while Ron let out a tsk and Harry just shook his head, "Sorry about that." Harry apologised to Bree and her friends, "Come on Ron."

The Gryffindor pair climbed up the marble staircase in the Entrance Corridor, Harry turned to send the group a quick wave and than vanished behind a door that was pretending to be a portrait.

Ernie, Hannah and Justin went to the Great Hall but Bree excused herself to go clean herself up and instead went to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey gave her a warm welcome and pointed her towards the office. The office was unbelievably clean and organised, a large bookshelf displayed an alphabetised sets of books on diagnosing and treating patients, a simple green chair sat in front of a dark wooden desk. A glass bottle of blood sat on the corner of the desk next to an inkwell and a small pile of letters. Bree took the bottle in her hand, it was still warm. She delicately unscrewed the top and drank it all in one go. She hated how happy it made her feel but it just felt so good, like sinking into hot bath. Bree took a deep breath as she felt the warm liquid flow through her body, reviving her. While it felt good it was no comparison to a fresh drink; the tearing of flesh and the warm nectar seeping out, the struggle and then sudden stillness of the prey. Bree slammed the bottle down on the desk growing distrustful of her own thoughts. She had only ever drank from animals, small animals, mostly vermin but the darkest corners of her mind had always wondered about humans. She shook her head trying to think of anything else. She left the Hospital Wing as quickly as she had entered it, hurrying down to her Common Room.

* * *

October 31st arrived with a early morning thunderstorm and a sky of grey and a bone chilling wind that seemed to sweep the whole castle biting at exposed fingers. The lessons that day seemed longer than usual as anticipation for the feast and party built throughout the day. The mood was deflated slightly by Snape who decided to give them a test and then spend the rest of the lesson offering students snide remarks and putdowns.

"I can't stand him!" Hannah hissed when they were out the lesson, "_Galangal, Abbot? Are you brewing Scintillation Solution or trying to blow up the castle?_" She sneered in a near perfect impression.

"Let it go. It's Halloween and that was our last lesson. The feast starts in an hour then…" Justin lowered his voice so even Bree could barely hear him, "party time!"

An hour later in their best robes the Hufflepuffs were filing into the Great Hall, they ducked with a shriek as bats swooped over their heads. The Fat Friar glided in after them, "Excited for the feast?" He asked with a chuckle, "We ghosts have quite a show planned for a little after dinner entertainment!" He glided further done the hall as the four of them took their seats, with Bree and Hannah sitting opposite Ernie and Justin. The food appeared on the golden plates just as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

"Yum!" Hannah said reaching out for a chicken leg as Bree ladled some roasted red pepper and tomato soup into a bowl and took a few slices of pumpkin seed bread. The spoon had barely touched her lips when the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open. Professor Quirrell ran in, a look of terror on his face, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know." He collapsed on the floor and the whole hall erupted in a panic, students jumped from their seats and ran for the door. Bree was shoved to the ground by a Slytherin while she tried to make it to her feet she heard Dumbledore's voice and everything else seemed to stop. He told them to head back to their dormitories and wait. Hannah pulled her up and Faith and Robert, their prefects guided them down to the common room.

Once they arrived they were told the party was still on and everyone headed up to their dorms to get changed into their costumes. Bree still hadn't thought up a costume and was the last one left in the dorm. She went through her trunk twice but found nothing that could be a costume. Exasperated, she jumped down on her bed and pulled the sheets over her. Inspiration struck her! She pulled a white bed sheet from her bed, poked some eye holes with her wand and threw it over her head and went down to the Common Room.

It looked amazing, pumpkins hovered in the air just like in the Great Hall, huge spiders webs stretched across the ceiling, a huge cauldron in the centre of the room flashed different colours and spat out sparks, silver trays of food weaved their way around the costumed Hufflepuffs. Some were dressed as things Bree recognised, pirates, princesses, mermaids and animals, but some were dressed up as Muggles that Bree didn't recognise. She carefully made her way through the crowd picking up a chicken sandwich as she looked around for Ernie, Justin and Hannah.

Ernie was easiest to spot, he was bright orange and bloated and round, "Hey Ernie!" Bree called.

"Wow, Bree. What exactly…are you?"

"A ghost, of course! Woooooo!" She waved her arms towards him, "You look impressive, is it a spell?" She poked at his belly and carved eyeholes flashed.

"It's from a potion I ordered, you turn back at midnight. Justin seemed to find it funny but I don't really get it. Must be a Muggle thing." He shrugged and took a sip from his goblet.

"Where are Hannah and Justin?"

"Behind you!" Hannah hoarsely. Bree turned around, at first Bree didn't think Hannah was dressed up at all but then she looked down and saw that Hannah had a horse's body!

"Did you use a potion too?"

"No." Came a muffled voice.

"Is that Justin?"

The tail swished and then the foot stamped with a clip-clop. "He lost the coin toss." Hannah giggled and Justin made a disapproving noise, Ernie suppressed a giggle.

"Hey guys! Having fun?" It was Cedric, he was dressed as Dumbledore; a long white beard hung to his knees, half moon spectacles sat at the end of his nose, and was wearing deep purple robes dotted with silver stars and a matching hat.

"Of course, Professor." Bree said with a smile.

"I know this isn't exactly the best party, everyone's a bit worried about the troll. George and Gary were going to dress as one so it kind of ruined their night." He waved over to two sullen looking boys in the corner, trying to avoid being splashed by the group that were bobbing for apples. "Good costumes, I think Hannah and whoever else is in there could win the prize for best first year costume. Bree, are you a giant marshmallow?"

"I'm a ghost."

"Oh, you should make yourself see-through, it's not that hard but-"

There was an almighty crash and everyone shrieked, Bree spun around thinking that the troll had somehow broken in but it was nowhere to be seen.

"HOW COULD YOU!" A voice boomed, Bree spun around again it was boy in a floor-length leather jacket with his hands on his hips. He was standing over a third year who was dressed as a vampire with slicked back hair and a long cape and some fake fangs who had smashed into a table

"Ugh, not again!" Cedric muttered.

"Wha-" Ernie began but he was interrupted by the boy's booming voice.

"How could you!" He yelled again, "Dressing as that! One of those!" He spat, "A vampire KILLED my father!"

"Calm down." The third year said scrambling away from him but the boy reached down and pulled him up by his collar, so they were face-to-face.

"Vampires aren't funny." He said quietly, "They are mindless, soulless killers!"

"Brutus Gaston!" Faith yelled as Robert pulled them apart, "You do this every year! Ten points from Hufflepuff. Now go up to your dormitory and stay there until you calm down."

Brutus shrugged and said "Come on LeFou!" A short boy dressed as bumblebee got up from an armchair and stood by his side. Before he turned to leave his eyes swept the room and Bree could almost swear they settled on her.

* * *

AN - I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to upload a new chapter, hopefully it was worth the wait!


	9. Remember, Remember

Chapter Nine - Remember, Remember

The days following the Halloween party were uneasy for Bree, ever since she had heard about Brutus Gaston's past she had been anxious. Bree was even more sure now that he had stared directly at her, of course she may have been making things worse in her head; her memories of the night seemed to become more disjointed the more she tried to hold onto them.

She had asked the other students about him the next morning in what she hoped was a casual manner.

"He's brings it up at whenever he can…always makes a big show about it too," Cedric said thoughtfully as he buttered toast, "You'd think he would take the poor guy to one side and tell him politely."

"We are Hufflepuffs." Bree interjected, in her mind Hufflepuffs were the least confrontational of all the Houses.

"Just because someone was sorted into a House it doesn't mean they'll be a perfect example of that House." Cedric glanced down the table to where Brutus was sitting, "People can change, you can't just judge them based on their Sorting."

Bree nodded and looked down to him and his friend who were sat at the end of the table eating fried eggs, then went back to her cereal.

"Well, I have to go the library before Charms." Cedric got up and left the Great Hall in a rush.

"I think he's a nutter." Ernie said with a small shake of his head.

"Who? Cedric?" Justin said incredulously

"No. Gaston." Ernie lowered his voice as though it could be possible for Gaston to hear them, "Vampires aren't really as big of a threat as he seems to think they are."  
"Really?" Justin asked, "I must admit I don't really know much about them…being Muggleborn."

"They're more common in Central Europe for one thing, there aren't that many in Britain. And they don't hunt humans anymore, his father must have been unlucky and picked a fight with the wrong man."

"Are vampires really strong? I would think a wizard could beat one pretty easily."

"Some vampires were wizards before they were bitten and they usually are strong so it's not that hard to see how it could happen…once they get their teeth into you; that's it."

"I think if a vampire killed his father he has a right to be angry at them." Hannah said quietly. Bree simply busied herself by pouring herself some orange juice, trying not to be drawn into the conversation or hear her friends opinions of vampires.

"Enough vampire talk. It feels like a DADA lesson!" Justin said after a few minutes of chatter, "We should be heading to History of Magic."

"I doubt Binns would notice if we weren't there, he'd just drone on and on and on." Hannah mimicked his monotone as she swung her backpack over her shoulders, Bree looked quickly back to Brutus and sure enough he was looking right at her. It plagued her mind the rest of the day, festering. She took her place in her seat in Professor Binns classroom, opened her book to page 459, _'__Goblin Riots of 1480__'_then stared down at it allowing her mind to drift away. No-one she had talked to had taken Brutus Gaston and his 'hunting' seriously - except perhaps his friend LeFou - so she knew that she shouldn't take him seriously either but still, it was enough to worry her. He could see something suspicious and work everything out and have her kicked out of school, or worse he could take matters into his own hands. There was no doubt in Bree's mind that he carried stakes around with him even if he'd never used one. She rubbed her eyes then checked her watch, the lesson was only ten minutes in? Bree shifted herself slightly to take a look at Justin's watch and yes, it was only ten past nine. Whoever had decided to schedule History of Magic first thing on a Friday must be aware that it constitutes a cruel and unusual punishment? Bree stifled a yawn, she didn't know whether she would rather worry about Brutus Gaston or if she should use the lesson trying to master the art of sleeping with her eyes open. They had all been up quite late last night, especially with Justin and Hannah celebrating their win in the Fancy Dress competition.

She looked down the desk, Ernie had drawn the short straw this week and was furiously scribbling notes while Justin and Hannah were playing Hangman. Bree looked down at her textbook, flipped to the index and then found the chapter on The History of Vampires in Europe and read that instead. She was relieved and slightly disappointed when she discovered her father was not mentioned in the list of Notable European Vampires, she had always been curious about him and her mother had always been rather vague on the details; Bree was not even entirely sure he was European. The bell rang just as she began reading about Herbert Varney, a vampire who killed London women in the late 1800s, known by Muggles as Jack the Ripper, before being caught and killed by a special team from the Ministry. She closed the book and shoved it in her bag as the four of them headed to Charms where they practised Wingardium Leviosa and Locomotor.

They spent their break in the courtyard, Bree was surprised to see Harry and Ron with Hermione but by the looks on their faces they didn't seem to be arguing, in fact they seemed quite friendly. Hannah and Justin were eating some Cauldron Cakes they had won last night and Ernie was magically copying his notes from History of Magic so they would all have a copy and Bree was watching a Gobstones game when all of a sudden a bright blue leaflet was thrust under her nose, she looked up to see LeFou looking at her eagerly.

She took the leaflet and asked, "What is this?" despite having a pretty good idea. The front showed a ghoulish vampire with exaggerated features topped with the flashing red title 'The Nightmare Menace.'

"It's about being watchful, Brutus has heard that group of vampires has moved to Fife and-"

"A group?" Ernie asked sceptically, "I always thought a collective of vampires was a nest?"  
"I heard it was a brood…or a colony. Actually that might be hags." Hannah looked unsure as she brushed some stray crumbs from her mouth.

LeFou looked like he had lost his train of thought but soldiered on, "A…" He paused looking from Ernie to Hannah not sure what to say, "A lot of vampires," he eventually said bypassing the need for a collective noun, "have recently moved to Fife. Brutus thinks we should be on alert."

"Why? Are they going to invade Hogwarts to recruit an army of the undead?"

"That is not as unlikely as you might think."

Justin looked confused, "What?!"

"Er…It's all explained in the leaflet."

Bree wondered if LeFou really believed all this or if he just went along with if for Brutus' sake.

"Vampires have rights. You can't treat them like an infestation of doxies!" Ernie exclaimed, pointing at a page in the leaflet.

"Ah, LeFou!" Bree looked up to see Brutus Gaston striding towards them, he was wearing his long leather coat over his robes with the collar turned up and Bree noticed that his long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked him up and down and didn't see any vampire hunting paraphernalia but a coat like that was bound to have inside pockets, "Warning these poor first years about the Nightmare Menace, are you?" His voice boomed over the whole courtyard, several people turned to look and Bree just wanted to disappear.

"Yeah Gaston! I don't think they're really into it."

"These poor impressionable youths! Ask about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Quirrell, now there's a good man…I would trust him with my life. He's hunted vampires, and destroyed them! Nothing evil stands a chance against him…He told me that…" He continued on and Bree, Hannah, Justin and Ernie exchanged a desperate look and tried to silently urge each other to interrupt.

"I'm sorry but we really have to go!" Hannah squeaked.

"There's another ten minutes until the next lesson."

"Bye." The four of them grabbed their things and hurried inside and spent the next few days avoiding him and thinking of increasingly bizarre reasons to excuse themselves from his long diatribes.

"I think he thinks we're really interested." Hannah said Tuesday morning at breakfast.

"We've been avoiding him all weekend, Hannah. I think he got the message." Ernie said as he poured them all a glass of milk.

"I don't know, he's not exactly the sharpest sword in the stone, is he?"

There was a lull in the conversation as the four of them nodded and murmured their agreement.

"Hey guys!" They looked up hoping it wasn't Brutus, it was nearly impossible to get away from him during meals, there was a wave of relief when they saw it was just a lanky, sixth year. He coughed and then recited in a dull monotone, "You may be aware that today is the Fifth of November…" He looked to their faces hoping for some hint of recognition.

"Yes, it's Guy Fawkes Night." Justin answered politely.

"Exactly. Hufflepuff House is known for its acceptance and celebration of Muggle culture as historically we have had the most Muggle-borns, half-bloods et cetera. So tonight in the Common Room we shall be celebrating this event. Be there at seven." And then he headed down the table to talk to the rest of the Hufflepuff first years.

"I didn't know Hufflepuff was such a party House. The Sorting Hat said we were hardworking." Hannah frowned slightly.

"Work hard, play hard I guess." Bree laughed, "I'm sure the other Houses do stuff like this too. What do Muggles do tonight, Justin?"

"Light bonfires, set off fireworks, eat a lot. Guy Fawkes was going to blow of the Houses of Parliament and kill the King but he got caught and tortured…then killed, rather brutally. It's an odd thing to celebrate once you think about."

"So, Justin what other weird things do you muggles celebrate?" Ernie asked and Justin launched into an explanation of some of the other Muggle holidays.

* * *

Later that evening after her usual trip to the Hospital Wing for blood she bumped into Harry in the Entrance Hall, he was muddy and wet and carrying his broomstick. He had obviously just come from Quidditch practice.

"Hey! Harry!" She called over as he slammed the doors shut. "You were out practising in that?" She gestured vaguely to outside, it had been raining all afternoon and there had even been some thunder.

"Oliver wants me ready for all weathers." He nodded, "And it's our first match on Saturday so we've been practising a lot."

"I'm sure you'll be really good. I mean, they wouldn't choose you if were bad."

"I guess so. Wood says I'm the youngest in a century."

"Wow! Good luck."

"Will you be going to the match?"  
"It's not really my thing…but maybe." _It depends on the weather_, she added silently. "I'll be supporting Gryffindor though!"

His face broke into a smile, "Great!" He looked around and then dropped his voice conspiratorially, "Listen, this Gaston guy, he's a Hufflepuff. Do you know him?" Bree nodded, "Could you maybe ask him to leave me alone? He seems to think I'll be the poster boy for his anti-vampire campaign, just because I'm-"

"The boy who lived?" Bree interrupted, "He won't listen, Bernie Adams told me he does it every year and that he loses interest in 'recruiting' around Christmas. At least you aren't in the same House as him!"

Harry's face fell, "Well, I need to go and clean up." He motioned to his muddy clothes and walked towards the staircase.

"Hey, Harry?" He turned towards her. "Happy Bonfire Night!"

"Is it?" He looked confused and then seemed to consult a calendar on his head, "Oh yeah I guess it is. I never really celebrated it. The Dursley's would leave me at home while they went out with Dudley. But sometimes I could see the fireworks from the windows."  
Bree wasn't sure what to say, she didn't really know a lot about Harry's home life, "I'm sorry Harry." She said earnestly.

He waved his hand as if to say 'forget about it' then said "'night Bree."

"Goodnight Harry." And she scurried off to the Common Room.

The party was in full swing when she arrived. All the furniture was against the wall and a roaring magical fire was in the centre of the room, every now and then it shot out baked potatoes wrapped in foil that had been cooked in it. Bree caught one and a fork appeared in her other hand. A large model of who Bree assumed was Guy Fawkes was perched above the fire reciting a poem,

"_Remember, remember the fifth of November, _

_Gunpowder, treason and plot, _

_I know of no reason, _

_Why the Gunpowder Treason,_

_Should ever be forgot!"_

That night as Bree stood with her friends eating toffee apples and baked potatoes, laughing and joking as fireworks exploded sending showers of sparks over their heads she felt, for the first time in her life, that she really belonged somewhere.

* * *

AN- Thanks for reading, I'm trying to update more regularly. Let me know what you think!


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